---
title: "Optimization Settings Overview"
slug: "optimization-settings-overview"
updated: 2024-12-04T17:08:28Z
published: 2024-12-04T17:08:28Z
canonical: "help.bringg.com/optimization-settings-overview"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.bringg.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Understand Optimization Settings

Run Bringg's route optimization (RO) to reduce costs by organizing your into the fastest, most efficient planned routes , where each order arrives at its destination within its designated time window. If you have an Own Fleet, RO can also assign each route to a vehicle or driver who is available at that time and has the correct skills to fulfill the orders. You can configure RO with preferences like the maximum length of a route, the time on site (TOS), the time to load the vehicle, predicted and real time traffic patterns, and so on.

For example, you can set route optimization (RO) to limit the number of destinations on a route, or to use the minimum number of vehicles in a route.

You can also:

- Add vehicle profiles to send more precise vehicle size and capacity restrictions to the optimization engine to create more accurate routes.  [Learn more](/v1/docs/add-vehicle-profiles).

![](https://cdn.document360.io/a18074ef-073a-4ab1-bcab-12625715280e/Images/Documentation/image-1678440809291.png)***Set up Bringg's route optimization to create efficient routes*** 

Each time you run route optimization on the same group of orders you may well receive a different result, as there are multiple ways to organize the same group of orders into efficient routes. Instead of reshuffling all orders each time, you can set your optimizations to build on your existing plans. You can also make focused changes where they are required using the route planner.

### Before You Begin

- Write down your detailed requirements of how you expect your drivers and vehicles to behave during their work shifts. Do vehicles they have a set starting location? Do you want longer or shorter routes? Do you want more smaller vehicles or fewer larger vehicles?
- Define the shifts and allocation of resources, by creating delivery blocks. [Learn more](/v1/docs/define-shifts-and-availability-of-resources-with-delivery-blocks).

### Settings for Route Optimization

You can tailor the route optimization outputs to fit your needs, by configuring any of the following settings. You can configure certain settings yourself, and contact your Bringg customer service representative to implement others on your behalf.

| Setting | Description |
| --- | --- |
| **Start route at** **End route at** | Specify the starting point and/or the final destinationof any route for this team or delivery block as: - Location of the team's base, often the fulfillment center - Driver's home address - Default location of the vehicle (like a predefined parking slot) TipResource-based optimization (type 6) allows you to set a default start and end location from a menu of options. Legacy optimization types allow you to choose simply whether to set the team location, often the fulfillment center, as the default. |
| **Start next route where previous route ended** | Add a further starting point of a route as the end of the previous one. |
| **Minimize resources** | Lower your costs by creating fewer routes using fewer resources (vehicles and drivers). One such method might be to prioritize using larger capacity vehicles. |
| **Predicted and real time traffic patterns** | You can opt to add advanced traffic integration settings to RO to improve the efficiency and accuracy of your routes, as well as the estimated arrival times (ETA), and the selection of drivers. Advanced traffic integration considers past, historical, and predicted data during the optimization process to come up with the best possible routes for specific dates and times. It also considers road hazards and restrictions that are known in advance of the optimization. For example, if a particular road has an overpass that limits access to vehicles under a certain height, traffic integration will factor that into the initial optimization of routes. Then, once the order assignments are locked into place, traffic integration uses real time traffic and information about new hazards like collisions or road work to update the ETA. This ensures better oversight of routes from the control tower, and a more seamless consumer experience. Contact your Bringg customer service representative to add this to your configuration. Without this feature, RO predicts traffic based only on previous patterns: - You can manually reduce the average speed of all road segments by defining the **traffic variable** for that area. - (Legacy RO only) You can define a service area's **traffic variable**. - You can define zones that routes should avoid, like ferry crossings. During a route, drivers use their preferred mobile navigation app to see live traffic updates and avoid slow moving areas. You can even add a dedicated navigation app for the safe driving of heavy goods vehicles (HGV) (using [Trimble's CoPilot](https://transportation.trimble.com/products/copilot-navigation), purchased separately, Android only). |
| **Allow the driver to reload** | (Self-service) Ensure drivers can return to the fulfillment center between routes, and allow time for breaks and loading vehicles for the next route. You can also configure RO to automatically estimate the loading or unloading times at the start or end of routes based on the amount of goods and the types of goods for that route. Otherwise, you can set RO to apply the same initial loading or unloading time to each reloaded route. |
| **Service area** | If you assign drivers to specific , you can limit routes using those drivers to destinations in that area. A team can have more than one service area. |
| **Allow route tweaks** | Select to allow you to tweak a route to add unassigned orders. |
| **Driver admin time** | You can configure RO to add to the ETOS of a destination when you need to perform a specific driver action. |
| **Maximum total distance per route** | Configure the maximum distance of a single route. As you lengthen routes, RO can create fewer to cover the same number of orders. |
| **Maximum total time per route** | Define the longest time a single driver can work on a single route. As you lengthen routes, RO can create fewer to complete the same number of orders. |
| **Maximum destinations per route** | Define the maximum number of destinations on a single route. More destinations means fewer routes to complete the same number of orders. |
| **Maximum capacity** | (Self-service) In the vehicle profile settings, define the maximum load in a single vehicle/trailer for a single route. If you load more goods in a single route, RO can make for fewer returns to the fulfillment center to reload. You can measure capacity in length (meters/feet), weight (kg/lbs), or handling units (boxes, pallets, and so on). |
| **Define on-time orders** | You can allow RO to schedule arrivals at destinations so that: - The ETA and ETL is within the order's time window. - Only the ETA is within the order's time window. - Allow late arrivals. |
| **Driver fairness** | Use the **Driver Fairness** setting to encourage more evenly distributed workloads for each driver in a shift, supporting a more fair and equal approach with your delivery workforce. |
| **Use all drivers** | If enabled, the optimization will prioritize assigning orders to **all the drivers** who are on shift and available instead of creating fewer routes with fewer drivers. |
| **Route clustering** | (Self-service) Use **Route Clustering** to create routes with far fewer intersections. Optimized routes sometimes crisscross each other, taking some drivers through the same streets or areas. You can choose the **default clustering level** to limit the extent of intersections in routes, ranging from regular routes to more clustered routes which avoid crossovers. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/a18074ef-073a-4ab1-bcab-12625715280e/Images/Documentation/image-1678440888897.png)***Reduce intersecting routes with clustering*** |
| **Avoid non-commercial roads** | Configure RO to avoid roads which do not allow commercial vehicles (supported in the US only). Typically, this includes state parkways, certain residential areas, roads with low-hanging bridges, and so on. NoteNot compatible with Vroom. |
| **Avoid toll roads** | Indicate whether or not you want RO to use toll roads in planning routes. NoteThis setting is required in the United States. |
| **Display routes on roads in route planner** | (Default behavior) Configure the route planner to display the actual directions of the optimized routes which connect the destinations. |
| **Keep previous route unless explicitly overwrite** | (Enabled by default) Configure RO to keep the existing route definitions unless you explicitly want to re-optimize the orders. |
| **Create routes in the future** | (Enabled by default) Assume RO needs to create routes where all destinations are after this moment in time. |
| **Willingness to wait** | Indicate to RO to what extent it is an issue for a driver to wait between orders. |
| **Reshuffle or preserve sequence when adding orders to already optimized routes** | Configure RO to either change the priority of any of the orders now in the route, or maintain the same order of priorities while inserting new orders where they slot into those priorities. |
| **Squash time** | Indicate how much time RO should add for every order after the first one, which is delivered to the same address and customer as the first. |
| **Max route radius** | Configure RO to set an aerial distance limit of any route from the driver start location. |

#### Required Inputs for Route Optimization

The which you optimize into routes should contain the following details:

| Setting | Description |
| --- | --- |
| **Time window** | A time window is the time range when you intend to fulfill an order. Therefore, an order is considered fulfilled on time if it arrives within the time window. The time window is set when you schedule an order in Bringg and is usually defined by the no_earlier_than and no_later_than fields. Narrower time windows are seen as better service, like 9 to 10 am, while longer windows are more typical of larger carriers. |
| **Estimated Time on Site (ETOS)** | Time on site starts when a driver arrives () at a destination on a route, and ends when they leave () to continue to the next destination. This can include finding parking, gaining access to the building, security passes, elevators, onsite activities like payment, assembly, unpacking and so on, then exiting, and returning to the vehicle ready to leave. [Bringg](/v1/docs/) uses the time between check-in and checkout to (ETA) at the following destinations in a route. You can choose between: - A fixed ETOS for all destinations from a specific team. - A different ETOS depending on the details of the goods in the order, or other details about the order, like the location of the destination. You can make these calculations with our API and insert it into the order's payload. - IntelliTOS uses machine learning to predict the ETOS by finding the most salient properties of an order which influence ETOS, then building a model to predict ETOS. |
| **Type of order** | The type of order can have an impact on its ETOS. An order can be: - Dropoff when the customer receives the goods. - Pickup when the customer hands over goods. - Pickup at one destination and dropoff at another. - Pickup at one destination, dropoff at another, and at that second destination you can also pickup the goods you are replacing. |
| **Service plan** | A service plan is a type of service that you provide to consumers like express, basic, or over the threshold. Service plans enable you to fulfill service level agreements by letting the Bringg Platform, dispatchers, and drivers know when you have committed to providing a specific service, such as delivery at the customer's home or workplace, or a specific handoff procedure like requiring the customer's signature as proof of delivery. |
| **Order's skills** | Set up skills in Bringg to automatically assign orders to routes with the right drivers and vehicles that have the capabilities necessary to fulfill them. For example, when delivering groceries you can set up a `refrigerated` skill that applies to all perishable orders so that route optimization and AutoDispatch automatically assign these orders to the vehicles that also have the `refrigerated` skill. |
| **Ranking** | Some orders can have a rank signifying how important they are. High ranked orders must be delivered as a matter of priority, while a lower ranked order may be moved to the next route. |
| **Weight** | The weight of the goods in lbs or kg. |
| **Dimensions** | The dimensions of the goods in terms of their height, width, length and volume. TipBringg can send the output of a route to a specialist loader applications which position and sequence the goods loaded in the vehicle. |
| **Fragile** | If an order's goods are fragile, they must be on top. This is applicable for use with specialist loader apps. |
| **Palette** | Sometimes an item must be on the bottom of an order's goods, like a palette, for use with specialist loader apps. |

Routes, Drivers or vehicles should also have the following details:

| Setting | Description |
| --- | --- |
| **Maximum vehicle capacity** | Derived from the vehicle type, measured in ft/m, or as weight in lbs/kg. |
| **Cost per km or mile** | (Legacy RO only) Define the cost of using this driver and/or vehicle, to help pick the most cost effective combination of drivers, vehicles and routes. Define the cost when driving and when waiting, stored in the vehicle type. |
| **Availability** | RO checks the delivery blocks, and factors in break times, and vehicle loading times (see **Driver admin time**). |
| **Limited to service area** | Limit this driver or vehicle to destinations in a specific service area. |
| **Default start location** | Defines the default location of the vehicle at the start of a route. |
| **Default end location** | Defines the default location of the vehicle at the end of a route. |
| **Skills (Driver or Vehicle)** | Set up skills in Bringg to automatically assign orders to routes with the right drivers and vehicles that have the capabilities necessary to fulfill them. For example, when delivering groceries you can set up a `refrigerated` skill that applies to all perishable orders so that route optimization and AutoDispatch automatically assign these orders to the vehicles that also have the `refrigerated` skill. |

The Bringg Platform is the leading cloud provider for delivery and fulfillment, helping you scale and optimize your last mile delivery operations and omnichannel customer experiences. With a real-time view of the delivery process, you get the visibility you need to ensure goods and services reach consumers safely, affordably, and on time.

Bringg empowers a collaborative ecosystem, putting the power back in your hands to drive exceptional delivery experiences at minimum cost.

Bringg helps you make fast, accurate decisions by alerting you to potential problems before they become larger issues, and presenting the information needed for you to react. With Bringg, you can fulfill orders efficiently, with more peace of mind, and better consumer satisfaction.

Bringg helps you keep pace with consumers' growing demands by offering them flexible options like express shipping, Click & Collect, green delivery, and the ability to schedule delivery when they choose.

With Bringg 's Delivery Hub you can access a diverse global network of 300+ delivery providers to expand your business and meet changing market demands. Learn more.

Increase efficiency with optimized routes and AutoDispatch, and keep track of your overall performance with real time report data.

Run Bringg's route optimization (RO) to reduce costs by organizing your orders into the fastest, most efficient planned routes, where each order arrives at its destination within its designated time window. If you have an Own Fleet, RO can also assign each route to a vehicle or driver who is available at that time and has the correct skills to fulfill the orders. You can configure RO with preferences like the maximum length of a route, the time on site (TOS), the time to load the vehicle, predicted and real time traffic patterns, and so on.

For example, you can ask to set route optimization (RO) to limit the number of destinations on a route, or to use the minimum number of vehicles in a route.

Each time you run route optimization on the same group of orders you may well receive a different result, as there are multiple ways to organize the same group of orders into efficient routes. Instead of reshuffling all orders each time, build on your existing plans by making focused changes where they are required using the route planner.

You can run RO manually or automatically at set days and times, for select teams or across the entire organization.

On demand orders typically use AutoDispatch (AD) instead.

A destination is the exact geolocated address associated with an order. The order may also have notes attached to help drivers access the correct destination. For example, arriving at an office complex, you need the building name, entrance number, access codes to enter, the floor number, room number, whether there are stairs or an elevator, the best place to park and so on. This information is often used to estimate the time on site.

A time window is the time range when you intend to fulfill an order. Therefore, an order is considered fulfilled on time if it arrives within the time window. The time window is set when you schedule an order in Bringg and is usually defined by the no_earlier_than and no_later_than fields. Narrower time windows are seen as better service, like 9 to 10 am, while longer windows are more typical of larger carriers.

You can share the time window with your consumers for an improved experience. For example, if a consumer places an order for the 8:00-12:00 the following day, in the morning notify them that you intend to arrive between 8:00-9:00.

If you allow consumers to select their preferred delivery slot, the time window is scheduled accordingly.

A vehicle in your Own Fleet is paired with a driver to reach a destination on a route. Each vehicle has a type, capacity (maximum weight or dimensions), and you assign specific skills to each one to allow Bringg to choose the correct vehicle for each order. You can define the availability of vehicles in delivery blocks.

Time on site starts when a driver arrives (checks in) at a destination on a route, and ends when they leave (checks out) to continue to the next destination. This can include finding parking, gaining access to the building, security passes, elevators, onsite activities like payment, assembly, unpacking and so on, then exiting, and returning to the vehicle ready to leave.

Bringg uses the time between check-in and checkout to estimate the time of arrival (ETA) at the following destinations in a route.

A route is a sequence of destinations from one or more orders. Bringg can automatically create routes by calculating the fastest and most efficient route which fulfills the orders. Bringg can also help you assign the most appropriate vehicle and the driver with the correct skills to complete the order.

There are two types of routes:

1. A planned route is a route containing planned orders that you create in advance, either manually or using route optimization. For example, you can run route optimization every day at 10pm so that drivers can start their routes when they start their shifts the next morning.
2. An on demand route is a route which contains on demand orders that you create on the fly by using Autodispatch (AD), which continuously and automatically assigns orders to a team's drivers, vehicles, and routes. Common examples are deliveries for restaurants, grocery and pharmacy stores, or roadside assistance.

After you dispatch the orders in a route, drivers receive their route in their Driver App as a series of destinations, each with their associated order which they pick up or hand off to the consumer.

The resources of your Own Fleet are your drivers and vehicles. Bringg uses the availability of these resources when creating routes with route optimization (RO) or AutoDispatch (AD).

Delivery blocks are the daily working hours (shifts) when your company delivers to its consumers. You can assign delivery blocks to your drivers and/or vehicles, so that Bringg can consider their availability when creating routes with route optimization (RO) or AutoDispatch (AD). Drivers can also sign up for shifts (delivery blocks) directly on their Bringg Driver App.

Delivery blocks are particularly useful when drivers work independently and self-register their available working times, as in the case of *crowsourced last-mile carriers*.

A fulfillment center is your home base and where you prepare orders for dispatch. It might be a store, warehouse, factory, garage, or restaurant.

You can configure Bringg to automatically perform actions when drivers approach your fulfillment center. For example, you can make a driver available for AutoDispatch, or take them on and off shift, without requiring them to manually check in. These actions are called home events.

Each team has at least one fulfillment center, and each fulfillment center can have one or more service areas.

Traffic integration is a premium tool you can add to Bringg to improve the efficiency and accuracy of your routes, estimated arrival times (ETA), estimated leaving time (ETL), and driver selection.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/a18074ef-073a-4ab1-bcab-12625715280e/Images/Glossary/image-1680072353307.png)

***Use traffic integration to optimize routes more effectively***

Traffic integration adds maps, data, and other services that consider anticipated and real time traffic for specific dates and times as well as road hazards and restrictions to help you:

- Allocate and sequence orders and assign drivers for maximum efficiency within a planned route.  
For example, with traffic integration Bringg may sequence adriver's deliveries from north to south, if northbound traffic will be heavier at the scheduled time.
- Share more precise real time ETAs with your consumers who use the Bringg consumer page to keep them informed of any delays early on. For example, let them know when you first pick up their order from the fulfillment center that you will reach them later than planned due to predicted traffic delays.
- Locate and assign the closest drivers to respond to on demand orders by leveraging the data and maps to know exactly which driver can get to the destination the quickest, even if geographically they may be further away.

You can draw service areas on a map in Bringg, or use a list of zip codes, to define your distribution network. Orders that arrive in Bringg are sent to the team or carrier responsible for the service area of the order's destinations.

You can assign drivers to a specific service area within your delivery scope. This way, drivers can be familiar with their specific area, or remain nearby a specific area.

You can also use service areas to separate regions on the map to align with your business practices. For example, you might have a different delivery speed, price, or availability in some areas based on their distance from your fulfillment center. You can do this in Bringg by defining rules for each service area.

A fulfillment center can have multiple service areas, but a single service area can also belong to several fulfillment centers. For example, you might want to share a service area when your inventory is split among several warehouses, or when you need to recruit drivers from another location to assist with high demand.

Estimated time on site.

Driver actions are the stages in an order flow which a driver performs in the Bringg Driver App to complete the fulfillment of that order. You can set up mandatory and optional actions to prompt drivers to take a payment, obtain the consumer's signature, take a photo, fill out a form, open a webpage, and scan a barcode to confirm a handoff.

If you mark a step as mandatory, the flow cannot proceed until the driver starts and completes this step. For example, you may define a separate flow for prescription medicines to require a signature at handoff.

The estimated time of arrival (ETA) is the time a driver is expected to arrive at a destination. Bringg's route optimization typically schedules an order's ETA to be within its time window.

The estimated time of leaving (ETL) is the time a driver is expected to leave a destination. Bringg's route optimization typically schedules an order's ETL to be within its time window.

As a driver using the Bringg Driver App, you can sign up to a shift and see the orders in your route as a list of destinations and breaks, with contact information for each order, extra notes from the consumer or dispatcher and step-by-step instructions to handoff successfully. The Bringg Platform has already optimized your route, and you can navigate turn-by-turn with your favorite map app.

Payloads are data packages containing a predefined set of parameters (fields and values) which Bringg sends and receives from other systems via webhooks, APIs, or websockets.

Payloads arrive at a designated URL in another systems in standard JSON format. For example, see the payload format for an API call to assign a new driver to an order:

{ "task id": 1234567, "user": { "external_id":"driver1", "name": "Driver Name", "profile image": "https://url.to.image", "phone": "+15555555555", "email": "driver@fleet.com" }, "delivery cost":12.99, "green_delivery": true }

Over the threshold delivery typically means that the driver must set up or install the goods or services delivered. This means that the driver has the requisite skills to successfully complete this order.

A handoff is any transfer of goods from one person or location to another during fulfillment of an order. Drivers usually validate handoffs with a driver action like a scan, signature, or photo. For example, when a driver scans items at a warehouse, this handoff transfers custody of the items from the dispatcher to the driver. The final handoff is when the consumer accepts the goods and the driver records proof of delivery.

AutoDispatch (AD) continuously and automatically assigns orders to a team: drivers, vehicles, creating quick ad-hoc routes as orders come in. AD enables you to prioritize efficiency, by automatically batching orders together, while adhering to very short SLAs. Bringg typically uses AD when you have an Own Fleet fulfilling on demand orders, such as deliveries for restaurants, grocery stores and pharmacies, or roadside assistance. You can use AD to build routes for select teams, or across the entire organization. Planned routes typically use route optimization instead.

Types of vehicles often include cars, vans, walking, bicycles, motorcycles, or trucks with trailers, with optional properties for green delivery.